


Alex Verus One Shots

by Jojothepanwithaplan



Category: Alex Verus Series - Benedict Jacka
Genre: Multi, One Shot, alex verus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:41:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26257345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jojothepanwithaplan/pseuds/Jojothepanwithaplan
Summary: just a bunch of Alex Verus one shots, request are always open ^^
Comments: 19
Kudos: 17





	1. Chapter 1

like the summary already said, this will be a collection of Oneshots and please feel free to request anything ^^

I won't be able to update regularly but I'll try my best


	2. Maybe you're not the worst thing ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> well, remember when I said I'll be writing Oneshots?  
> I couldn't stop myself and now it's more like the first chapter of a story so expect more to come about these two wonderful idiots  
> also this plays somewhere in between the third and fourth book

When there's one thing I've learned over the past years it is, that it's never a good sign when Lyle shows up, it's either a lot of work or bad news.

Sometimes both.

The business was running slow today, there were never more than three customers at once in the shop and most of them only tried to escape the pouring rain outside, Luna had called to cancel our plans for tonight, so I decided to close early.

I run a small shop, called the Arcana Emporium, where you can get any kind of magic stuff. Well, most of the things I sell are as magical as a pair of old socks. The stuff that really is magic is behind a small, robbed of section and I try to avoid selling any of these things to people who don't know about magic, which are, unfortunately, most of my customers.

Just as I was about to shoo the last customer out of my shop someone else entered. "We're closed," I said without making much of an effort to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Goof grief, Alex, you've got manners, why don't you use them?" I didn't need to turn around to know who he was. And he certainly belonged to my top-ten list of people I don't want to see at any given moment.

Guessing that he didn't actually want an answer, I asked "What are you doing here, Lyle?"

Lyle has short black hair and a slight olive tint to his skin, he has a slim built and I've never seen him wearing anything other than a well-fitted suit.

"No hello? No nice to see you?"

"It's never nice to see you." I looked out for danger like I always do every time Lyles comes around, but there's never any. I'd still prefer to talk outside of my shop, and more importantly, not near my flat. 

Only as Lyle tapped his umbrella at the floor in annoyance, I remembered the rain outside. Apparently, I had no other choice than letting him stay inside.

Lyle pointed the umbrella towards the stairs "How about we head upstairs?"

I nodded reluctantly and led Lyle upstairs to my flat, I didn't want him anywhere near my flat, but it was a better opinion than talking in the shop, where everyone could easily see us through the window.

"Wait here, I forgot the key downstairs," I said as an excuse to head back and grab some Oneshots -just in case- and headed back to unlock the door and let Lyle step in.

Lyle looked around and wrinkled his nose "Jesus, when was the last time you cleaned this garbage deposal?" he made himself comfortable on the couch and I shot him an angry glance, which he ignored.

I don't like taking shit from anyone, especially not Lyle.

"What do you want?" I asked again, already seeing what Lyle'd say next.

"Making you an offer," he simply said, as that would clarify anything.

"To work for Levistus? No thanks." There was no way I'd work for that man again, he'd attempted more than once to kill me after the whole affair about the fateweaver.

Lyle was the one who brought me into this, so it's actually his fault. He brought me back to the magic society, but if I'm being honest, I enjoy it. If I had stayed out of the affair, stayed under the radar of the council and some particularly nasty dark mages, maybe I wouldn't have met some of my closest friends, I wouldn't know Sonder, nor would I've made Luna to my apprentice and I've never met Anne and Vari. For the first time, it occurred to me, that Lyle may had caused a domino effect, which got me nearly killed, but which also caused some of the good things in my life.

Which of course didn't mean, I'd take his offer.

"Not for Levistus." Lyle cleared his throat and loosened his tie a bit "for me."

Out of all things, that was probably the last one I'd exptected Lyle to say.

Lyle avoided my gaze and for the first time in years, I recognized the shy and awkward boy I had become friends with as Richard's apprentice.

His eyes were fixed on the ground as he added "Please, Alex, you're the only one I can ask for help." his voice had gotten quiet, almost pleading.

And yet I couldn't resist the urge to be a jerk "Why should I? You've hardly given me any reasons over the past few years to help you know."

There was still one question that stuck with me. I had wondered about it ever since Lyle first showed up to try to talk me into working for Levistus. I've gotten angry at him and had slammed him against a wall.

The point is, I didn't want to work for Levistus and my feelings about that had never changed.

Why wasn't Lyle using his magic on me?

He could have easily manipulated me into working for Levistus, so why didn't he? Why did he make such an effort to convince me, if he could have used another, more comfortable way?

I looked at him and his dark eyes were fixed on me, he seemed to have guessed my thoughts, but kept silent.

"Why?" I finally asked.

Lyle fumbled nervously with his hands and I could tell he needed to gather his courage first. Lyle has always been like that, everything is fine until he loses control, then his mask fades and reveals that he's actually insecure about almost everything he does. Or scared.

And Lyle's certainly scared of me, which shouldn't give me such satisfaction right now, but it does.

"Don't you remember?" he asked, now avoiding my gaze again.

"Well, obviously not, otherwise I wouldn't be asking, would I?"

Lyle gulped "Right, it was two months after we've first met -as apprentices I mean- I promised you not to use my magic on you."

Now that Lyle was saying it, I remembered it too. He was right, he did promise me that, after Tobruk had said, Lyle was probably using his powers to manipulate me, he wasn't though.

And he never broke his promise, until- "Remember the fight with Crystal?" I said coldly. Lyle had used his magic to irritate me, so it would have been easier for Crystal to get me under her control.

Lyle tensed, he knew I'd bring that up eventually "Alex, please, I- I wasn't myself. You have to believe me." I knew that Lyle was lying, and he knew that too. Apparently, some things never change.

But it was oddly satisfying seeing him beg for help.

"Why do you need my help?"

He hesitated "You're going to help me?"

"No, I just want to know into what shit you've gotten yourself into this time." I couldn't care less about Lyle's problem "But maybe I'll consider it after you've told me the whole story."

Lyle's expression hardened again and he got up abruptly "I'm afraid that is information I can't give you without certainly knowing that you'll help." he made his way towards the door "When you've made a decision, let me know." and with that, he slammed the door shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd love getting feedback


	3. Mordex Fluff, royality Au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just some fluff, though only the second half is real fluff, i guess

"Moving the troops to the north could appear as an act of violence to Richard." three pairs of eyes turned to me, great.

"He's an ally." one of the three men said and gave me concerned smile "Why would it appear to him as such?"

"Oh, I don't know, but wouldn't you be upset as well, if someone positions their troops right at the border of your kingdom?" I directed the question at the third man, ignoring the hateful look the second gave me. 

His grey eyes lingered at the map on the table a few seconds longer before turning to me "I think Alex is right," he said eventually to my surprise "Onyx," he looked at the second man "move the troops west." 

Onyx shot me a last scornful glance before he nodded and left. It probably wasn't the best idea to upset the head of the guards, but I've never been the type to respect authority. Besides, after some incidents in the past, the king made it pretty clear that we should better get along, so no needs to worry about him. 

The first man's gaze kept changing from me to the third man, and he smiled knowingly "We can discuss this matter another day, Morden."

Talisid was one of the very few men to talk almost casually to the king, and if I'm honest, I admire that about him.

"You two should take a break too," he said while leaving.

Talisid wasn't the only advisor Morden hat, but he was by far his favourite and the one, Morden trusted most. He kind of fades into the background, with grey hair and always the same inconspicuous clothes, especially when he's in a room with Morden or Onyx, but after you've known him for a while, you know he shouldn't be underestimated. I like him, though. 

Onyx is the head of the guards and despite his young age, slim and deadly. Luckily he has to obey Morden, otherwise, I'd be dead by now.   
It was more than clear that these both had to be present while Morden planned to move the troops.   
I, on the other hand, shouldn't be here.

My job is to take care of the library and of anything that could be, even at the slightest, related to magic. It's more of a joke but the king insists on it anyway. At least I get to spend most of my time in the library, which belongs to my favourite places in the castle. But I'm pretty sure it's one of the reasons why Onyx looks down on me. But Talisid and Morden seem to actually listen to my opinion.

"Talisid's right, you know." I stepped behind Morden to massage his shoulders "you could use a break from work." 

He half-turned to look at me and the tension in his shoulders eased "I can't, it'd just pile up." 

I sighed "You're the damn king, you should be able to get at least one day off. When was the last time we did something not-work related together?" I half expected him to not know, I was all the more surprised when he answered: "Four months ago, though that was more of a visit to Richard, so it doesn't seem to count, right?"

"Yes, it doesn't," I kept massaging his shoulders "Please, Morden, just one day. We could make a trip or a picnic or-" Morden interrupted me with a small laugh and took my hand in his own "All right, one day off." he promised "How about tomorrow? A picnic sounds lovely. What do you think of a ride and a picnic afterwards?"   
My face brightened as I hugged him from behind "That sounds perfect, thank you. I'll arrange everything."

He squeezed my hand "As long as you don't prepare the food. I plan on living for another few years."  
I'd contradicted, but Morden was right. My food was, at it's best, edible "I'll ask Anne to do it, she's an excellent cook." 

"That's a good idea." he rose from his chair and folded the map before giving it to me "Would you bring that back to the library?" Morden handed me the map without even waiting for an answer.

"Oh, and Alex," I turned to see him smile, "I look forward to it."

I returned the smile "Yeah, me too."

***

The next day was sunny and warm, perfect for our trip.

On my way to the stables, I couldn't help myself but smile the whole time. It had been an eternity since Morden and I did something like this together.

I took a detour to go to the kitchen first and picked up the basket Anne had prepared for us. As I arrived at the stables, Morden was already there, waiting for me. He looked stunning in a loosely tied shirt with a slim belt, crested with silver ornaments and dark blue trousers.   
Apparently, I was staring obviously, because Morden laughed.

"You look good." I finally managed to say, still not able to tear my eyes away from him.   
"Only good? I was aiming for a bit more," he said jokingly.

"You look fantastic," I quickly said, which seemed to satisfy him.  
"Now, that sounds a lot better." he took my hand and kissed it "You look great too." 

  
I felt my cheeks heat up, and was pretty sure I blushed, causing Morden Morden to give me an amused glance "You're cute when you're flustered."  
I rolled my eyes smiling and pointed towards the stables "Shall we?"

  
Morden's horse was, of course, jet black, whilst mine was almost as white as snow, with only a few light grey dots on its skin.   
Morden helped me to get on my horses back, which was unnecessary but I appreciated it anyway.

We rode past Variam, one of the nicer guards and he opened the gates "Have a nice day." 

Morden looked at me "I'm certain it will be more than just nice." I blushed again, hoping that Variam wouldn't see it. 

Once we were past the gates and the town behind it, I allowed myself to relax. The only disadvantage of travelling with the king is, that everyone kept staring at us.

Morden seemed to relax as well and I kept looking at him out of the corner of my eye. He gave me a warm smile, which never failed to make my heart beat faster.   
After a while, my stomach began to rumble and my thoughts kept drifting away to the food. Luckily we found a great spot beneath an old and huge oak.

Again Morden helped me to get off my horse, his arms around my waist as he pulled me closer "It really was a great idea to take one day off, thank you, Alex." his lips brushed against mine as he spoke, sending a chill down my spine. I cupped his face with my hand to pull his lips towards mine and kissed him.

Just at this moment, my stomach rumbled again and Morden chuckled "Should we eat something?"

I grinned "Oh god, yes, I'm starving."

We sat down, leaning against the oak. Morden opened the basked and smiled "Bread, chicken, lemon cake and strawberries. Anne knows we'll be away only for today, right? It looks as though she prepared food for a whole week." 

I laughed "Don't act like you wouldn't like it."

Morden took a bite of the lemon cake "It's delicious, you have to try some." before I could protest or agree he put some cake in my mouth. I gulped hard, but Morden was right, the cake was delicious.

And suddenly, a wave of happiness overcame me. I didn't know why, all I knew was, at that moment, I felt incredibly happy to just sit there with Morden, my head resting on his shoulder and doing nothing but whispering sweet nonsense to on another.


	4. Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever 2

"I don't think you should work for him," Luna said, picking at her straw, "it could be a trap. Maybe Levistus's still after you."

We were sitting in my favourite Starbucks near kings-cross and discussed what had happened. Luna, Anne and Variam sat opposite of me as I told them about Lyle. I also asked Sonder to come, but he couldn't make it, though I was pretty sure he would say I should help Lyle, _because we were friends_ or _because it could help the council._

Lucky me, that 'pleasing the council' wasn't something I had to tick off on my to-do list.

"I thought about that too," I said, "But-" I hesitated, "Lyle didn't seem to lie about Levistus not being involved.

More than two years ago a light mage named Levistus hired me to get a powerful artefact but things had gone differently than he had planned and I'm sure he still holds a grudge against me because of it.

"But he lied about Crystal controlling him during our fight in Fountain Reach." Variam pointed out, taking a sip of coffee.

I frowned "Yes, and no. Crystal probably controlled or at least had some influence on him, he didn't lie about that. But he knew perfectly well what he was doing while he attacked me."

"So he lied." Variam insisted.

"I hate to say it, but Vari's right." Luna agreed, with a sidewards glance at Variam.

I looked at Anne, who had been quiet the whole time "What do you think?"

Anne looked up from her tea, which she's been holding with both hands "I don't know," she finally admitted, "it could be important."

Variam shifted in his seat "Or it couldn't. All we know is, he'd have to be really desperate to come to you for help, right?"

I nodded "I'm probably the last person he'd ask for help if he could somehow avoid it, so yeah."

"Did Sonder say something?" Anne asked after we've listened to Luna and Variam bickering about something entirely different for a while.

I considered lying but eventually decided to stick with the truth instead "I haven't told him yet, well, not all of it. I only told him that Lyle asked me for help and I might have made it sound like I knew why. So I told him to let me know if anything new about it comes up. He seems to be knowing what goes on, but I don't know why."

Anne looked at me reproachfully but didn't say anything.

"Could he be working with Lyle?" Luna asked, which, admittedly, would make sense.

"Could be."

She grimaced "I still don't get why someone would actually want to work for the council. Sure, Talisid's all right, I guess, but all the other mages? They couldn't tell the truth if their lives depend on it. Why is Sonder so keen to do everything the council tells him to?"

"That's not the point right now," Variam groaned, "Point is, the greek idiot is so desperate, that he asks you for help, but you don't have any idea why, right?"

Variam's opinion on Lyle isn't high or even good, since Lyle's one of his teachers in the apprentice program and from what I had seen, Lyle sucks at teaching. Not that it'd surprise me. "That sums it up pretty much, yeah."

"So what will you do?"

"That's exactly what I'm trying to find out." What would I do? I certainly didnÄt to be used by Lyle or even help him to climb higher in council politics, yet as he asked for my help, he seemed so lost. On the other hand, I've always blamed him for not helping me when I needed him, after I escaped Richard, not helping him seemed fair but then I wouldn't have been much better than him.

I needed more information.

"Are you all free tomorrow evening, let's say 7 p.m.?" I asked, "by then I'll know what to do."

They nodded and I rose "Great, Luna, take care of the shop while I'm gone."

Luna opened her mouth to complain but closed it again "Alright," she said resigned.

I grinned "Good girl."

Luna gave me an annoyed smile "I'm not a good girl."

"Yes, yes you are." on my way out I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the contacts. Just as I was about to call Talisid my phone rang."Hi, Sonder." 

"Alex? Oh thank god, there had been another one!" even trough the phone I could hear his quick and shallow breath.

Maybe now I was about to find out what was going on. "Calm down, tell me exactly what happened."

I could clearly imagine Sonder adjusting his glasses "Another disappearance. Just two hours ago, Light apprentice."

I stopped in my steps. _Another_ disappearance?

"Lyle told me not to give away too much information on the phone," Sonder continued.

"Thanks for the update," my voice was hoarse and I ended the call. So that was why Lyle needed my help. Apprentices disappeared again. But Lyle was involved the first time apprentices disappeared, how could I be sure he wasn't now? Crystal, the woman who had been behind it all, asked me to secure the safety of apprentices in her residence as well. Lyle asking for my help was no proof of him being innocent.

I called him and he answered right away "Hello?"

"I need answers! Don't be such a coward this time!"

There was a short moment of silence and I looked at the screen to check he didn't hang up.

"How much do you know?" Lyle finally asked as I kept silent he added, "Oh, come on, Alex, I know you well enough to know you already tried getting as much information as possible. How much have you got?"

Right now, only one piece of information mattered to me "Lyle, I'm going to ask you this only once and you'll better be honest with me. Do you have anything to do with the disappearance?"

"No!" Lyle cried out "But everyone will think I do if it gets out! I beg you, Alex. If you won't help me, I'll be ruined."

I could tell he had to swallow all his pride to tell me this. I sighed "Fine, I'll help you. Under one condition; you have to tell me the truth about everything and answer every question I ask you. And it would be nice if you wouldn't be an arrogant ass the whole time."

"That are two conditions." Lyle probably bit his tongue now, "Sorry, all right, I'll be completely honest as long as it regards this matter."

I rolled my eyes, Lyle could be a massive pain in the ass, "Great, meet me tomorrow at the heath, 11 a.m."

"Alex?" he said as I was about to end the call.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you." it sounded as though he'd smile.


	5. Onyx/ Sonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just a very short Oneshot of Onyx and Sonder

"I'm home." Onyx kicked the door open and within the same second, someone hugged him. "What the-" the annoyed sound in his voice faded immediately as he realised, Sonder was crying. Only then he noticed the dark bruises on Sonders wrists, on his neck and the blood dripping down his left arm.

"What happened?" his voice was full of worry, and he made no attempt of hiding it.

"There was this mage and he wanted to- to find out something", Sonder sobbed, tightening his grip on Onyx. "I hate him! I hate him so much!" he cried even heavier.

"Who was he?!" Onyx asked, fist clenched. He was furious.

"I- I don't know." Sonder admitted his voice shaking "I think a dark mage" his eyes watered up again.

Onyx turned around, he was going to find that person.

"Don't-" Sonder grabbed his arm. "Don't leave me alone." he whispered, "Please."

Onyx wanted to kill that mage, but he couldn't leave Sonder. Not now. "Fine." he sighed finally. "Let's take care of your wounds." he led Sonder to the bathroom, sitting him down and searching for some band-aids "Tell me what happened exactly." 

While he was still digging in the cabinet, Sonder began to describe something, which sounded like a normal day at work "Fast forward to the important part." Onyx said, shooting him a sharp look. Sonder looked apologetically to the ground.

"I was on my way home when this man approached me, he offered me some kind of deal, to be honest, I didn't quite understand it, but it didn't seem like something, which the Concordia would allow, so I said no."

Onyx rolled his eyes "Fuck the Concordia." he mumbled under his breath, just quiet enough for Sonder to miss it. 

"Then-" Sonder's voice cracked, but he didn't start crying again "then he said he'd kill me if I don't agree on working for him."

"So you did what he told you to do?" he still couldn't find the band-aids.

Sonder shook his head "It would have hurt many people." 

Now Onyx turned to face him "But you're still alive?" how could someone as soft and helpless as Sonder survive an angry dark mage?

"I'm not useless, you know." Sonder said with a stab of annoyance in his voice "I can protect myself very well." 

"Obviously, you can't" Onyx gestured at Sonder, "I wouldn't count that as 'protecting oneself'" he let out a sharp breath of air "but I'm glad you're still alive, I mean, what would I do without you?"

"Grocery shopping and cooking your own food." Sonder said immediately "the list still goes on, should I continue?" there was a faint smile on his face and that was enough for Onyx, he couldn't bear seeing Sonder sad for much longer.   
Onyx made a triumphant noise as he finally found a packed of bandages and band-aids.

He crouched next to Sonder "This might hurt a little." he sprayed disinfectant on the long cut, going all the way up from Sonder's elbow to his collarbone and Sonder inhaled sharply. Onyx took a towel and carefully patted it dry before putting band-aids, then bandages on. "This should work, but if it could get more serious if the wound infects, you need to keep it clean and-" he was cut off by Sonder, who had leaned forward and kissed him. Onyx smiled and put an arm around Sonder's waist to pull him closer "What was that for?" he said, as he spoke his lips brushed against Sonder's. 

"I'm not used to you being nice, let me enjoy this," Sonder mumbled and leant in for another kiss, which Onyx gave him without hesitating. "You're pathetic," he whispered smiling as the broke apart.

  
Sonder returned the smile "I love you too."


	6. Maybe You're Not The Worst Thing Ever 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I actually wanted to start writing this chapter at the beginning of the week, now it's Friday and I doubt I'll even finish I this month but let's see, I'm just gonna try  
> I also fully forgot what even happened so I had to reread the previous two chapters, Oof rereading own writing, that's a rollercoaster to hell

Seeing ahead I could see Lyle was already waiting for me, standing in the shadows of a large tree and looking around with crossed arms. 

It was half-past ten. We were supposed to meet in half an hour, saying this surprised me would have been a lie. Even as apprentice Lyle was always overly on time, sometimes I wondered if he considered being  _ actually  _ on time, not too early, as being too late.

_ "Geez, Alex, can't you be at the time I ask you to come?" Lyle took my hand and pulled me through the garden, at the far edge under a large oak was a pavilion, that was the direction Lyle headed too.  _

_ I let out a small laugh and looked at him, taking in his soft black hair and olive tinted skin "Relax Lyle, it was only fifty minutes or so, I needed to tell Richard a believable excuse to go outside instead of spending my time with other apprentices inside.  _

_ "Well, you're rude and annoying and you steal everyone's last nerve and you don't look good," Lyle laughed a bit and flashed me a small grin "Just tell him that and he'll let you go voluntary."  _

_ "And I'm the one being rude here?" I grinned, Lyle never failed to make me laugh, even if he didn't intend to do so, "You're a very rude person Lyle Trahelis." I said smiling and pulled him onto a bench, my smile grew wider as I saw him blush. _

_ "Hey, I- I didn't tell you that I wanted that to be a mage name for you to make fun of me for it, you're so mean!"  _

_ I rolled my eyes "Oh come on, Lyle, you know I didn't mean it like that, the name is great, really, I have no idea what it actually means, neither do you I guess, but it suits you... somehow." _

_ Lyle crossed his arms and looked away "If you say so, hey, have you decided for a mage name already?"  _

_ That was something I did though about a lot indeed and eventually I found a name I liked but I was unsure if I should tell him. _

_ "You have one?" Lyle looked at me with big eyes, sometimes I forgot that Charm Mages were able to guess thoughts really accurately by just knowing what someone else felt, I wasn't exactly paranoid but that unsettled me a bit if I was completely honest. Lyle sighed and stared at his feet "It's okay, you don't have to tell me, I understand that you're rather careful around me, I'm sorry."  _

_ Now I felt a bit bad, I didn't mean to hurt him, Lyle knew that too, though that changed nothing about the fact that I had managed to hurt the feelings of my only friend. _

_ "Verus," I said and Lyle looked up at me "I want my mage name to be Alex Verus."  _

_ A smile tucked at the corner of Lyle's lips "Thank you, Alex." he nervously scratched the back of his head, "I like that name."  _

_ Then he did something that surprised even me, he took my hand and looked firmly into my eyes, "Alex Verus, I, Lyle Trahelis, swear to never use my magic in any way to influence you."  _

_ Maybe I even blushed, I'm not sure, then I laughed, "Lyle, you sound ridiculous speaking so formal," before he could feel hurt again I quickly added "But I appreciate it, thank you. And no matter what others might say about you, or charm mages in general, I trust you."  _

I decided to annoy him a bit, he deserved it, and wandered around the park, looking at my phone from time to time to check the time. Ten past Eleven I got to the tree Lyle was waiting under and gave him a small wave "Hey, Lyle. I would say it's great to meet you but you know, that would be a lie. And unless some people I prefer to stick with the truth when possible."

As expected Lyle responded with rolling the eyes "Glad to see you still made it. I was almost afraid you'd changed your mind." that was a lie. He knew I mostly stick to my word.

"Shut up, Trahelis. Skip the stupid Smalltalk and tell me what's going on, everything, leave something out and I'll go."

Lyle took a deep breath and nodded "Alright."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, I have actually no idea what is going on in this story so I decided to throw a -(Spongebob voice)- flashback in there


	7. Meeting at midnight (Onyx/Sonder)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by my hate for the cold and dry skin and the absolute amazing Oneshot of dangerousalmon, which everyone here should definitely read

As much as he liked Christmas and the time before, the less Sonder liked the beginning of a new year.  
Everyone  was stressed , all problems that had  been forgotten \- or ignored - during Christmas and Silvester came back, slapping him in the face . Additionally, it was cold and windy, the sun set early, it was always pitch black when he left from work to go home. Or as dark as it could be in London. Of course, all streets were  brightly lit. 

"Hey, staring out of the window won't make the work you still have to do disappear. You don't want to overwork again, do you? If you make it one time today we can grab a drink after work, before you say no again,  just give it a try for once." Sonder turned to face his co-worker "Sorry, Ethan, as you said, I still have some work for today. Another time, okay?" 

"You say that every time. How long have we been working together now? Two years?" 

Sonder smiled  politely , his palms were getting sweaty and he started playing with the rim of his sweater, finding excuses to not having to do something never belonged to his strengths, not that there were much, to begin with, "I'll have to stay a bit longer today again, I promise next week I'll find some time ."  he didn't exactly dislike Ethan, he  just didn't want to spend the night in some overcrowded bar and drink, when he needed the time for sleep .  
Shortly after everyone else left, leaving Sonder alone to finish up his work. It was almost 11 pm when Sonder  eventually left.  He locked the office door behind him and yawned, he'd been living on an average of three hours sleep for a month now, he knew others managed to survive on even less, he  just wasn't used to that .  He checked his phone, there were no new notifications, only the reminder he needed to appear at half past 3 am to start his shift in a coffee shop . Only four hours till then might as well stay awake for the night.  Compared to afternoon the number of people on the streets hadn't decreased, if something, it hat become even more, the London Nightlife  just got started .

Sonder took one look at the mass of people floating in and out of the nightclubs and bars, then turned to find a quieter 24/7 coffee shop to stay till he had to start working again, drink a nice warm cup of tea and watching the people go by. That way he also could escape the cold rain, which now turned into wet snow, the kind that melted as soon as it hit the ground but soaked through clothes. Even though he had tucked his hands into the pockets of his coat they were already starting to get wet, the wind blew sharply into his face, bringing tears to his eyes. Sonder's breath turned into small clouds, fogging up his glasses. The neon light of the signs trying to attract as many people as possible mixed up and everything seemed to be too loud.

Luckily it didn't take him long to find a small cosy café and the pounding in his head disappeared as he held a big cup filled with sweet-smelling tea in both hands .  Around the time the tea had cooled down enough to actually drink it without burning his tongue, someone slammed the door shut and stomped into the café .  Sonder turned in shock and a chill went down his spine, the door only had been open for seconds but a cold gust of wind  directly blew in his direction . He shuddered, taking careful sips of the tea to get rid of the nasty cold feeling.

His attention fell onto the man who  just entered, he sat down two tables behind him, Sonder had a clear look at him.  He looked young, not much older than twenty, definitely too young to be older than  maybe twenty-five though . His face  was bruised and as he raised his hand to wave the waitress over Sonder could see his bloody knuckles. No matter how cold it was outside, the blood  surely wasn't only because of chapped, dry skin. He had been into a fight.  Staying away from him was  probably the best Sonder could do now, still, he found his gaze drawn to the man over and over again .  
He had ordered coffee and as the waitress arrived he said something Sonder couldn't quite understand but judging from his ton of voice, it wasn't a nice thank you .  
Why were most people so  unfriendly to strangers?  That had always been something Sonder couldn't  fully understand, it made sense to him to not like people one already knew, but being rude to someone you can't have a true opinion about was  just unfair .  
Something in the back of his head suggested that he should rather focus on not being too late to work instead of the man but  just as this thought crossed his mind, the man rose  abruptly from his chair, making his way over to Sonder and slamming his hand on the table "What are you staring at?!"

\--

"What are you staring at ?!"  The day had been bad enough already, his uncle's boyfriend came over for the night, which meant Onyx had to stay somewhere else . He hated that man, which, safe to say,  was based on reciprocity.  And while he knew he'd be able to find someone to stay the night with, he  really wasn't in the mood for that today, so he had decided to  just get some drinks in different bars and wait for the morning .  
Then some dumb woman had started to flirt with him and her boyfriend  surprisingly wasn't very happy about it, it had resulted in a fight . After the fight, Onyx went to find someplace to get a coffee and stay till the morning. His coffee was almost cold when he got it, leading him to show his anger in form of harsh words to the waitress. Then he noticed a boy staring at him.  Maybe he would have  just ignored him under more normal circumstances, but he  was annoyed , his nerves laying blank . So he stood up and asked the boy  bluntly "What are you staring at?!"

The boy  just looked up at him, his mouth was open but he didn't say a word.  
"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Onyx bend over him "Why the fuck are you staring at me? Do I have something in my face?!"

"Um, actually," he bit his lip, looking away to avoid eyes, "some bruises?"

Onyx took a minute to study him, he had a round face, dark messy hair and big round glasses, all in all, he seemed pretty young, but  probably was around twenty years old . Definitely an adult. Still, 'boy' was the term which seemed to fit him the best. He looked like the kind of person to wait until he  was married for at least five years before the first sex. Boring.

"Yeah, no shit Sherlock. Wouldn't have thought that. What is a kid like you doing here  at this time anyway? Aren't your parents worried about you?"

The boy frowned irritated and looked back at him "I'm not a child! I'm already of legal age!"

Huh, good to know, he became talk active when  being confronted . "Actually, I don't care."  Onyx took in the long lashes of the boy and found his gaze laying on his soft-looking lips, he straightened again, bringing distance between their faces "Do what you want,  just stop staring, it's annoying ."

The boy nodded "Yes, I'm sorry. Um, can I make it good somehow?"

Onyx looked him up and down, making sure he noticed it and waited long enough to let him know he considered it "What would I want from someone like you ?"

The boy hesitated, then looked at Onyx now completely cold coffee "How about a new coffee?" his eyes were pretty, an odd colour between brown and green, depending on how the light hit them. If he had seen him in a bar he would have ordered him a drink.

\--

Sonder thought about the man's question then noticed his coffee, it didn't steam and he didn't think someone would like to have cold coffee when it was freezing outside "How about a new coffee ?"  He smiled at the man, waiting for an answer, as the man nodded he relaxed, he hadn't even noticed that his muscles tensed, had he  been scared ?  
Sonder raised his hand a bit, he didn't want to appear too intrusive for the waitress "Could I have a coffee please?" He expected the man to go back to his own table, instead he sat down opposite of him, looking him up and down  obviously . His bruises were fresh, the blood on his knuckles wasn't completey dry.

"What happened to you?"  the question was out before Sonder could stop himself, being curious was one of the things others told him was a bit annoying about him, it made him feel bad immediately "You don't have to answer of course, I'm sorry ."

"I'll tell you if you tell me your name." the man tilted his head, Sonder couldn't quite pin it, but something about him made him feel nervous

"David. My name is David." Sonder prefered to use his second name for people he didn't know. It wasn't exactly a lie, it still made him feel like a liar "And you are?"

The man leant back, resting his elbow on the chair next to him "Okay, David," he said with  just enough emphasis on the name to make it clear he didn't believe him, "I'm Onyx . I got into a fight because some asshole thought I'd be flirting with his ugly girlfriend." 

Sonder's eyes widened "And were you?"

Onyx rolled his eyes, shooting an angry glance at the waitress who came back to the table with a cup of hot coffee "Of course not, why would I? As I said, she was ugly . Not my type. So, what is someone like you," he gestured with his hand over to Sonder, "doing all alone in the middle of the night here? You look like you're the type of person to have a set daily schedule and is  overall boring." 

"Well, thank you too." Sonder looked away and crossed his arms defensively "I have to go to work in a few hours and going home would have taken so much time, that I wouldn't have gotten a good rest. So I just stayed here."  maybe he just imagined it, but a small smile tucked at the corners of Onyx mouth "So your job begins this early and ends late night?" 

"Um, I have two jobs."  he nestled with his sweater again, hoping Onyx wouldn't notice "You know, London is kinda expensive, but I like it here . So I'm doing my best to stay."

"Bullshit," Onyx downed the coffee in one gulp and put the cup back on the table a bit too  loudly "You're a bad liar, David. I  really don't care why you work so much or what your real name is, but I don't like people lying to me."

Sonder gulped, he couldn't think of a way to talk himself out of this situation but telling a complete stranger everything wasn't exactly safe either .  But he would  probably never see him again, so telling someone about his struggels wouldn't hurt, right ? He sighed and took another sip of his tea "David is my second name. My first name is Sonder."

Onyx wrinkled his nose "Pretty shitty name. Did your parents want people to make fun of you or did they actually think that would be a good name?" 

"My grandparents raised me, so I don't know. My grandfather died a few months ago and now I'm trying to help my grandmother out. That's why I have two jobs." he had spoken so  quitely , he wasn't sure Onyx had heard him. He looked up at him now again, seeing him looking outside "I  really didn't care." Onyx said  eventually , but it sounded less  scornfully than the other things he had said.

\--

It wasn't a lie, Onyx  really didn't care about Sonder's reasons to lie to him, or about the truth. Why did his last words came out so soft?  Normally he would have told him to get screwed or to fuck off, but not today, why?  Onyx blamed it one the lack of alcohol in his body " Honestly , if I were to give a child such a horrible name I'd leave the child too, I wouldn't want to be around when the little bastart realises what an absolut idiotic name they have ."  as he noticed Sonder flinch and biting his lip, he didn't feel as good as usual insulting people, he sighed "Where do you work ?"

"Why do you want to know?" Sonder's voice got a sharp edge to it and again he avoided looking at him "I thought you don't care."

Onyx studied Sonder for a moment, could it be he  was attracted to that boy?  Sure, he was good looking in an innocent way, but not the type of person Onyx usually slept with, so he discarded the thought again "I don't . I  just tried to change the topic. You  surely heard enough jokes about your name, so I'm not saying anything about it anymore, sorry. Thought  I might ask where you work to get the conversation working again. You know, a conversation requires two people, right? I'm just saying, talking to you could be more fun than just sitting alone all night." 

Sonder's eyes got big again, it aged him down but made him look even cuter,  maybe he  was baffled because of his directness ? "I - uh-" he began to stutter, then said the name of a coffee shop Onyx hadn't heard before "I  usualy have the morning shifts. You could, um, you could always come by if you need somewhere to spend the morning." 

That was a surprising change of behaviour and Onyx didn't know what caused it, but it  certainly hadn't been a bad one.

They kept talking a while until Sonder had to go, Onyx told him about his uncle's boyfriend and Sonder talked about a nice but too energic co-worker .  Onyx couldn't remember the last time he had a somewhat nice chat with someone, but he found himself almost missing Sonder when he was gone . 

\--

A few weeks went by and Sonder never heard anything of Onyx again, he wasn't sure if he missed him, but the tiny spark of hope Onyx might visit him in the coffee shop hurt . He was  just about to prepare a customer's oder, as the door bell rang "Coffee."  someone demanded  harshly , though it didn't sound agressive, more  teasingly , which surprised Sonder by a lot . 

As he turned, Onyx stood in front of the counter, giving him a tiny smile "Hey, thought  I might come by." 


End file.
